As for me I’ve just received edits for a short story, One Stormy Night, to be released by Evernight Publishing prior to the end of the year. I’ll be working on those this weekend.

The Beginning of Forever, the conclusion of Amber and Kevin’s story, is out there on the web waiting to heat up your chilly weekend!

Just see what one Amazon reader wrote:

If you haven’t had a chance to read In The Moment then you should before you read this installment so you can appreciate the amazing love between Kevin and Amber. Truly Kevin is my hero, he is everything a real woman would want in her man. This story picks up with the two planning to marry but also Amber trying to get pregnant. Amber’s desire to have a family with Kevin really test their strength, faith and love. For Kevin he’d give her the world but not at the risk of her health, Kevin feels that the two of them have enough love to adopt but his life wouldn’t matter without her in it. Wow! what a man. Kevin in his usual determined way must prove to Amber that together they can make anything work, getting Amber to believe it herself is her walk of faith. I just loved this couple they were real, funny, sexy and just wonderful. I especially loved the ending of course it could be a new beginning for Kevin and Amber come on Vallory what do you think? This is a great read you won’t be disappointed but get In The Moment first. Enjoy

Do I love this because it’s glowing? Yes. I also love it because at least for one reader, the point of the story hit home.

I’m also finishing a short story for early next year. This is a departure from my usual contemporary romance and delves into the paranormal world. We’ll see how that goes. Maybe the Ngali and Widatsi will get a few likes in January. I don’t know but Logan and Ada called me to them and I had to answer.

Lastly, it’s almost November and I’ll be taking part in NaNoWriMo. Last year, I didn’t finish a completed novel. This year, I hope to pen A Loving Affair. In this next installment to the Rose Gold Collection, you’ll meet my first African-American hero, Xavier Loving.

Stopping by on her Virtual Blog Tour for the release of the much awaited Taken by Lust, best-selling author LeTeisha Newton has agreed to give readers an excerpt of the books, the run down on exactly how she came up with her characters, talk about a possible series, and a Giveaway to a lucky commentator! Don’t miss out on the fun, you’ll regret it.

Let’s get this show on the roll.

~~~Excerpt~~~

Selene wasn’t particularly a fan of girl’s night out. Granted she loved to party, loved to get on the dance floor and shake her troubles away, take a few shots of liquor, and call it a night. What she didn’t like was the persistent need for her so-called friends to set her up with some man to take home for the night. She was no virgin, so it wasn’t a prudish nature that made her patently against the idea. It was the simple fact that she wasn’t going to treat her body like it was some kind of meat market. Every time they did this to her she imagined herself naked on a butcher’s counter with a sign around her neck that said “fresh meat.” She hadn’t felt that way since her freshman year in college when she, admittedly, had been a little looser with her morals. Now, three years after graduating from law school and at the ripe age of thirty-two she wasn’t in the mood for Mr. Right Now. She wanted Mr. Forever, and her friends could take a long walk off a short pier if they thought she was going to change her mind on that.

Club Posh, an exclusive club that she and her friends had just recently gotten membership into, was full of exquisitely dressed people of the upper echelon. Posh was a place to rub elbows with doctors, lawyers, judges, celebrities, and old money. Selene and her friends represented the first three of those categories: Maddy the neurosurgeon, Sasha the judge who was pushing for an early appellate seat, and Selene the corporate lawyer. They were a mix for sure. This was a place they could let their hair down, so to speak, and Selene was happy for the opportunity. She’d both figuratively and truly let her hair down. Her hazel gaze scanned the crowd, her plump lips pursing as she looked for her friends from her seat at the bar.

She sighed, taking another shot. It was nice to feel kind of muddled. It made it easier for her to look at her friends, Maddy and Sasha, without thinking too hard about who she wanted to slap first when they walked up with three men. Maddy, the shortest of their trio, swept back her mass of chocolate dreadlocks over one shoulder, watching Selene with laughing brown eyes. Selene had always found Maddy beautiful in a girl-next-door sort of way. She was just over five feet tall and slender, maybe one hundred pounds soaking wet, her red mini dress hugging her shape nicely. She was on the arm of a tall, olive-skinned man whose hair was cut into a stylish mop of curls that brushed his ears. He wore a pair of charcoal chinos with a lavender shirt. Any man who could wear that color with pride made her smile. She may just like him enough not to scream.

Sasha was taller than even Selene’s five-foot-ten height by at least two inches. Her black hair was cut pixie short, showing off her heart-shaped face, dark eyes, and full lips to perfection. Sasha was the fashionista of them all. She wore high-waist white shorts with a striped gold and black shirt tucked in. Curvy in a way that made Selene envious, the outfit showed off her long legs and rounded hips nicely. On Sasha’s arm was a man just about her height in a black on black suit. His smile was charming; thick and long eyelashes framed green eyes while his blond hair fell neatly to his shoulders. Selene had to admit that their choices were nice indeed. Too bad she wasn’t in the mood.

The third man had an air about him. Selene couldn’t put her finger on it, but she could sense it. He watched her with an unblinking stare, so still she wasn’t sure that he was breathing. She didn’t know how her mind felt about being watched like that but her stomach went flip-flop. She was happy to be sitting. He was taller than her. Taller than anyone in the group. She figured him to be at least six foot four. He was broad at the shoulders, narrow at the hips, and his black suit flowed over him like water. He wore a black shirt but broke it up with a pure white vest and tie. She’d always loved a man who wore vests. It looked classier to her for some reason. His jaw was strong, covered with a light five o’clock shadow. His lips were narrow, but sensual. She didn’t know why she thought that, but there it was. His midnight hair was thick and fell just above his shoulders before curling slightly.

Most startling about him, over everything else, were his eyes. They weren’t real, they couldn’t be. But Lord they were mouthwatering. They were the color of vapor, not quite light enough to be silver, but not dark enough to be gray. She felt trapped in those eyes, like she was falling in quicksand and couldn’t break free. He stepped closer to her and she couldn’t move. She waited with bated breath. She wanted him to touch her, wanted to feel his gaze on her. She was eager, to the point of wanting to squirm, but she didn’t. She sat there, waiting for him. Waiting for the touch of his hands.

“This is William,” Sasha said, but again Selene didn’t react. She had found her anger again, just that fast. She was more comfortable with anger than she was with being embarrassed about the fact that she’d been staring at some stranger like he was all that existed in her world.

“I am—”

“I am out of here,” Selene said, not wanting to admit that the deep timbre of mystery man’s voice could be panty-dropping material if she let it. She didn’t want to know his name, she didn’t want to know him. She just wanted out of there.

“Selene!” Maddy gasped, but Selene pushed out of her seat and started to walk away from them. She had nowhere to go but forward, right next to snake eyes, but she wasn’t going to be deterred. She was going to get to the floor, dance a little, and then go home. She’d strangle her friends later.

“Pietr,” snake eyes finished, as if she hadn’t interrupted his earlier words and grasped her wrist as she passed by. She turned to jerk away and he was there, pulling her in close.

She could smell him. He smelled of the wild, of forest and brooks. She inhaled deeply, pulling his scent deep into her belly, feeling off balance, lost. What the hell is wrong with me? she thought. She couldn’t look away. His body was hard, solid, and she gripped his lapels to balance herself. Her breasts were crushed against his chest, her hips just under his groin. She could feel the imprint of his cock in her stomach. In her head she knew that something was wrong, something was very wrong, but she couldn’t stop herself. She felt the pulse of electricity where his hand gripped her wrist. She could feel every zing with each pound of her heart. She could barely catch her breath. She had to get away, had to get to freedom. This wasn’t right. She’d never reacted to a man like this. Still holding her to his chest, he wrapped his other arm around her, anchoring her. He spread his large hand across her back, so hot it was like a furnace. He leaned down as if in slow motion.

“Mine,” he whispered in her ear, and the slide of his exhalation over her shoulder sent chills down her skin.

“Well, it’s a good thing we brought him along,” she heard Maddy saying from what seemed like a mile away.

“Finally hit one on the head,” Sasha tossed back.

“You have no idea,” Pietr said, but he was looking at her. “Shall I order a drink for you, mikro?”

“No,” she was finally able to whisper. She swallowed and tried to speak again. Her body was throbbing.

“I want to dance,” she whispered, trying to think of anything to get away, to get free. “Let me dance for you.”

“You haven’t seen anything until you see her dance.” She didn’t even know which one of her friends said that, she was just happy they had. Pietr smiled down at her and slowly let her go.

“I will be right here. Dance for me.” As she turned away his hand glanced over the globes of her ass and she trembled.

He let her go and she could breathe. Her mind was working again, and with its function came fear. What the hell was happening to her? She’d never had a connection with a man like that in her life. She wasn’t one for bouts of fancy. She either got to know them over time, and then felt something for them, or she didn’t. Selene was not prone to moments of passion where she nearly lost her mind with wanting a man. Her friends stepped up to her side, laughing and giggling. She bet they’d shared a high-five before they came after her, but she didn’t care. She needed to get away.

“We did good this time, Sas. She couldn’t even think when that man came over,” Maddy said.

“Maybe she will get laid tonight. Lord knows she needs it. She works too hard,” Sasha said.

Her friends appeared at her side just as a deep reggae song pumped over the speakers. They dipped and rolled at her sides and Selene fought to calm down. She needed to think. If she didn’t play this right she wouldn’t get away. She sighed roughly, trying to push the tension out of her body and move her hips to the beat. She swayed and shimmied, raising her hands to the sky, for all intents and purposes looking as if she was dancing for Pietr at the bar. She didn’t dare look at him. She didn’t want to be lost again. Instead she looked around the club for the exit, her escape. She kept dancing, turning to get a better view of the exit. She moved, twirling around her friends, rubbing her hips at the right time, tossing her odd-colored hair over one shoulder, and licking her lips. She did everything she could until she saw her opening. She backed up as a waiter passed her on the floor carrying champagne for the dancers. She kept backing up, dancing through guests, her friends following her in the weaving pattern. They’d done this enough that it wasn’t odd. When she broke away from them they were laughing too hard to care and she slipped out the back door.

The cool air kissed her skin and she took a deep breath, clearing her head. Maybe it had been the alcohol, or the fact that she hadn’t been sexually active in nearly a year. Maybe Pietr had just been like no man she’d ever met before. Either way, though, she couldn’t give in. She was a sensible woman with an important career. She didn’t have time for one night stands or temporary flings. She knew she was being a bit childish to want love, real love, but she didn’t care. If she didn’t have love, she didn’t want anything else. She shook her head, happy the cool air was clearing her mind so quickly. She pulled her small card purse from the bust of her dress and waved her hand to hail a cab.

If she felt a pang of disappointment to be riding away from Pietr instead of falling into his arms again she didn’t admit it out loud.

~~~Q&A Time~~~

So LeTeisha, tell us how you came up with these characters.

Well, to be honest, it started with my four best-friends from throughout my life, Adelis Arroyo, Lauren Smith, Drea Simmons, and Beth Gonzales. I wanted to write a book with them in, a tight group of girls who support one another. But I think they would have drawn the line at me giving them some hot love scenes, no matter how much I begged. So that idea morphed into them being there to support my main character much like they’ve done in my life. I created a woman, Selene, who was not looking for Mr. Right because she didn’t believe he existed. I created Pietr who was Mr. Right and Exactly What You Need, and made it so that he would not be afraid of her biting tongue. Finally I threw in friends that would stop her from running from the best thing in her life, and Taken by Lust was born.

Since there are some other pretty important women in the novel from Maddy to Beth, are you planning on any other books?

You know, I’m working on it. I’ll even let you in on a secret. *whispers* Maddy will probably be next. It’s hinted at in the second chapter, and through to the end, but you’ll have to read the book to figure out who, and what, her man ends up being. I don’t know if I’ll go through all six women who show up in the book. Like I said, my best friends may not want me writing scenes about their girly parts, but at least the two fictitious characters, Maddy and Sasha, will. (Because I even made the four women based on my friends look like them in real life, so they know it’s them, besides the names!)

I guess we won’t being seeing their fleshy bits then. What about this giveaway, which I know everyone is dying to read about?

Here’s the deal, I love giving copies of my books to readers. It’s all because of them that I am where I am, that I’ve seen the heights I’ve reached. What I want to do is offer a free copy of Taken by Lust to the first person who can post a picture of what animal my hero can turn into. (Hint: viewing the first Teaser Trailer on my YouTube page is a MAJOR giveaway. www.youtube.com/LeTeishaNewton) That’s it, that easy. Answer correctly and I will send you a free eBook copy of the novel.

Thank you LeTeisha for stopping in today!

No thank you. It’s been a blast, and I hope to do it again sometime. Happy reading, and remember: Life is a story. How will yours read?

Kelli has a fantasy, to see how many men she can tease and send down in flames in one night. Then she meets her match- a retired hockey player who takes her to his penalty box for her misconduct.

Excerpt:

Kelli she stepped into the ladies room off the lobby, checking herself one last time in the large mirror. She dabbed on a touch more lip gloss then ran her fingers through her shoulder length curly, blond hair, teasing it just a bit more. Her eye shadow, Sapphire Seduction, made her blue eyes bluer. She smacked her lips together blending the gloss as she tugged the top of her skintight black satin dress, making sure plenty of her full, round breasts peered over the top. Kelli stepped back, examining her petite, shapely body from head to toe. Turning slightly, she checked the seams of her black silk stockings, each ran in a straight line from the top of her four inch stiletto heels, up the back of her legs, disappearing under her short skin tight dress. “Damn, you look good girl! This is gonna be fun.” She smiled at herself in the mirror then walked out of the ladies room, heading toward the bar.

Kelli was pleased to see a large crowd as she stepped into the hotel The room was abuzz with laughter and conversations. Men and women clustered together, enjoying themselves and dressed to impress.

At one end of the bar, a man sat by himself. He decidedly did not fit in with the rest of the crowd, dressed in jeans, and a jersey with Oilers emblazoned across the front. He looked about as out of places in this Manhattan bar, as a hooker in a convent.

I don’t have the numbers on this so I’m guessing when I say that the majority of readers of the romance genre are women.

However, according to the CDC, 6.1 million women in the US have trouble getting pregnant or staying pregnant.

Somewhere these two circles must intersect.

Raises hand from the back of the room.

At sixteen, I was told that I couldn’t carry a child to term without medical intervention.

But you have three kids, you’re saying to yourself!

And each time that I see a new OB/GYN, he or she is as surprised as you are that that I have given birth to three live children in my forty-two years. You see, hubby and I couldn’t afford the intervention. We just got lucky.

The point is I read romances.

Who also reads romances is a dear friend who after years of pills and injections, traveled to China to pick up her daughter. The numbers on her ovulation dice never beat the house.

Fast forward thirteen years and is her love for a mouthy teenager any less than the love I have for mine? Hell, no! We both are commiserating souls about our relationship with these once frilly dress wearing babes turned hormonal fanged creatures overnight.

While I thank you, gentle reader reviewers of my labor of love, it’s okay to say that the central conflict of The Beginning of Forever is the infertility of the heroine.

Amber has come to terms with this. And she’s really, really okay with it. She loves her daughter more than anything.

Add Amber and Kevin’s story to your TBR list and tell me if I’m right or wrong in the path I chose for the ending:

Hi Vallory, Thank you for inviting me here to talk about my hot new Evernight release, ‘Night of the Horse’.

The inspiration for the book came from seeing a paddock with more than thirty horses grazing in it. I have to travel sometimes with my job, and there’s a particular route I need to take to get to one part of the county. It takes me through beautiful countryside and past what I believe is the back of a horse stud. The first time I saw the paddock full of horses they were dotted about grazing. It’s a massive grassy area that slopes upwards to a hedgerow. I slowed my Jeep right down to look at the horses, but another vehicle suddenly came along on the country road and I had to drive on. On my way back, I hoped to see the horse again, but they were gone.

When I was asked to go that way again for work, I took my camera, hoping to photograph the horses, because they are all different colors and sizes, and very lovely.

The paddock was full of them again and they were running, galloping around and around as if they were in some mysterious race only they knew about. I found a place to take my Jeep off the road and walked back to photograph them. I’d only taken a few minutes to do it, but when I reached the paddock where the fence allowed access, only two horses were left, a white one with a long flowing mane and a tall glossy black one. Who knows where the others had gone, maybe over the hill through a gap in hedgerow I couldn’t see.

I stood by the fence and both horses walked down to me. I had climbed onto the bottom wooden bar of the fence and balanced there. The black one came right away up to me and nudged my shoulder. Then the white one pushed his head away turned back to me and nodded. I think they were used to someone coming along with apples or carrots, but it was funny and so nice to have those two gorgeous animals communicate with me like that.

On my way back home after work the paddock was empty. That night I started writing, ‘Night of the Horse.’

About Night of the Horse

A lonely young woman signs up for dance lessons. Two gorgeous guys find her as fascinating as she finds them. On the country road where she lives, she hears horses in the night, and opens her bedroom window to watch them gallop. They’re beautiful, a silver white horse and tall black horse…they turn to stare at her. Had they heard and understood when she sighed over them?

She gazed at Jude. When he opened his arms to her, she went into them. He held her close, a hand in her hair and an arm around her waist, cradling her against his chest. She raised her head, and Jude bent his, until his lips were so close to hers it was agony as she craved his kiss.

“Kiss me,” she whispered, unable to stand the wait.

Jude kissed her. A wave of desire started in her stomach and reached to between her legs, where she pulsed with need. He kissed her and she clung to him, kissing him back eagerly. Jude held her head and moved his face against hers as they caught their breath. His eyelashes brushed her cheek.

“Do you want more?” His voice was velvet, dark and enticing.

Copyright Elodie Parkes 2013

Enter for your chance to win!

~~~~Elodie is giving away five copies of the book, ‘Night of the Horse.’ Enter the draw via the rafflecopter with just a comment on the blog.~~~

I’m so pleased to welcome the talented and lovely, Jamallah Bergman to the blog today!

About Ms. Bergman

Well I am a single parent of a teenager daughter who is the light of my life even though sometimes as most teens do, she gets on my nerves, lol. I live in Atlanta GA but I’m originally from Jamaica Queens New York. I’m a Aries…and I like chocolate…..Cobalt Blue glass items….and rainy days,lol….yeah I know that sounds pretty corny there doesn’t it. But I do like those things though for sure,lol. I am 40 years of age and a true friend to the end….I am a hugger….so if you meet me in person and I find out who you are, you will get a huge hug from me.

I am also a writer of Interracial Romance both Contemporary and Interracial and as of today, I have eight books published with my publisher Secret Cravings Publishing.

I’ve always been writing for as long as I can remember, from back when I was in middle school, I would write short stories about dreams that I had about celebrities. But I really didn’t become a published author until 2011 with my 1st book “If…Only You Knew”. I basically starting writing because like all writers we have a story to tell that has to be told and I have plenty of stories within my mind that are good and need to be told. So why not share the love with those that really enjoy what I write about.

If you are a parent how does being a parent affect your writing and writing habits? Or does it?

Actually it really doesn’t change how I write much at all. I still write the same crazy stuff that I’ve been writing over the years. Nothing much has changed.

Who is your favorite author and why?

I really don’t have a favorite one….I really like them all.

What do you hope to accomplish with your writing?

Well I hope that once a reader sits down and take a look at what I’ve written that they can relate to my characters and the trials and tribulations that they have to go through to either get over the problems of their past to make way for a future with the one that they have fallen in love for. We all go through things in life that make it hard to move on into something that scares us, like a relationship with a man or a woman. So with my characters, you will see something in them that the reader will be able to relate a bit because they see what they’ve had to go through in their life.

Traditional or Self-publishing? Why?

Right now I am with a traditional publisher, Secret Cravings Publishing but I have thought about self-publishing though in the future.

Talk about your journey into the wide world of publishing?

Well it started with the help of a website and a new found friend who was also a fellow author.

I had been going to a website for authors who would go and either write about topics or just post their work on different things that they were working on. And I had been going on there for a number of months. I had posted some of my work as well as made comments and write small articles on topics that really hit a nerve with me.

Well I had met an author by the name of Mike Arsuaga, he writes about shape shifters and write not only himself but also with his wife too. Well I had been talking with him off and on and I told him that I had been writing for some time and I had a story that I had wanted to get out in print but no one wanted to print it because it was too short they said. So he told me about the publisher that he was with, Secret Cravings Publishing. He stated that they were always looking for new authors and all I had to do was submit my story.

So after looking everything over, I went and submitted my story and within a couple of weeks, I got a response back and that is how my writing career began. I don’t think I cannot stop thanking Mike for helping me along the right path. He’s truly an inspiration.

Tell us about your books?

Well my latest book Renzo is the 1st book of a 4 book series called “The Ciprianos of Kellington”. Each book will be dealing with a brother, Book 1 is about Renzo, the oldest, then there is Simone, Gianni and the youngest Federico. I really have enjoyed writing about Renzo as well as Simone, which is in the process of proofs, along with Gianni which I find his story very funny as well as nerve wracking. Each brother I have to say love very much and I honestly hope that those that read about these handsome and generous men will love them just as much as I do.

Renzo’s story basically tells about Renzo the owner of Filomena’s, a very popular restaurant in town. He’s handsome, charming and single, those three words are pretty much deadly and even more so when you are a Cipriano man. Most of the men have always had a rep as being a ‘player’ but this isn’t what Ren is about. Renzo is looking for love not a one night stand and that’s pretty hard when you have a crazy ex-wife always bugging you all the time. But Renzo soon finds it in the most unlikely of places, an antique store. This is where he meets Jaslyn Whitman, the owner of Timeless Treasures. Renzo has never met a woman like her and soon he decides to pursue her, despite the fact that Jaslyn has no plans on being another notch on a Cipriano man’s belt.

I won’t go into anything more but you get the jest of the story. *wink*

What inspired you to write in this genre?

Well mainly I write about Interracial Romance is because it’s something that is near and dear to my heart. I have always found the topic interesting for at one time it was very much taboo to be in an interracial relationship and even now in 2013, it’s still a touchy subject to some people. When I write about my characters, I don’t dwell on the color of the character’s skin only the way they get along and how they fall in love with one another towards the end.

Tell us why we should love or hate your main character?

Renzo is the quintessential man, at least I think so, he not only is a caring and loving soul but he’s compassionate of others feelings especially that of Jaslyn. He tries his best to show her that for one she can be loved and also to mainly not believe all that you hear from others. Which is something that folks do sometimes….they end up believing the hype that was brought up except for actually finding out the truth about a person. Not to mention he loves to whisper Italian when he’s holding you close or just whispering in your ear *sighs and faints*

Do your books have a soundtrack?

No Renzo doesn’t have a soundtrack….I had wanted to make a trailer for Renzo BUT I said that I would wait for all four to come out and probably do one for all of them.

Renzo, Simone, Gianni and Federico Cipriano

Each brother was thriving on their own working in what they were best in doing.

But it’s their mother’s wish for her son’s to find love and happiness like she had with their father, since they have not only been well known for their work ethics but also for their sexual conquest.

Watch as the Cipriano brothers of Kellington try and find love in probably some of the most unlikely of places. Along the way you’ll meet some of the women who take their hearts as well as their minds on a whirlwind ride like no other.

Renzo, the oldest Cipriano brother, lives a life that consists of working at his restaurants, dealing with customers as well as with a persistently aggravating ex-wife. He never had the chance to find the one thing that eluded him the most…..love.

That was until he walked into her store that rainy afternoon…..

Jaslyn Whitman, owner of Timeless Treasure Antiques, lives for a sale as well as making other people happy with the things she has in her shop. Being the ‘new girl in town’, she of course has been on the radar of some men. But she mainly tries to put work over dating men whose only intentions are to get her into bed.

Who thought tall dark and handsome would walk through her door?

Once these two meet, sparks immediately fly…for Renzo. Jaslyn however isn’t ready to deal with what would happen if she got involved with a Cipriano man. It’s up to Renzo however to show Jaslyn that there is more to him than just rumors and lies.